Das Wiflispurgergow – Geradus Mercator Map of Vaud, Switzerland
Copperplate engraving by Gerard Mercator (1512-1594)
Amsterdam, Circa 1607
Renaissance title cartouche
Verso: Text in French
Wiflisburg was an early German name for the city of Avenches in the Swiss Canton of Vaud (Waadt) and has not been used for centuries. The map shows Lake Geneva and the south-west area of Switzerland including Lac de Neuchatel, Murtensee, Thuner See and Lake Geneva (Genfer See, Lac Leman).
General age toning and several tears in the margins. Some repairs (see images of the back).
Dimensions: 47 x 56 cm
Gerardus Mercator (1512 – 1594) was a famed Flemish geographer, cosmographer and cartographer nenowned for creating the 1569 World Map based on a new projection – the Mercator projection – which flattened the spherical planet to make it easier to display on a sheet of paper.
One of the most famous mapmakers of all time, Mercator is known as the “father of Dutch cartography” and the “Ptolemy of his time”.
